Man acquitted in terror-related case to stay locked up during immigration review
VANCOUVER — A man who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges for posting online comments celebrating lone-wolf terrorists will remain locked up in British Columbia after the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled his release would endanger the public.
Adjudicator Trent Cook of the board’s immigration division said Thursday in an oral ruling that Othman Hamdan’s behaviour and online activity make it necessary to keep him incarcerated pending the outcome of an immigration review.
“While your posts may not be criminal, I cannot pretend that they do not exist. Nor can I ignore the impact that I think they are likely to have on those who read them and in turn on the Canadian public,” Cook told Hamdan.
“In my view, anyone who actively promotes and calls on people to engage in terrorist activity is engaging in behaviour and conduct that puts the Canadian public in danger, regardless of if that conduct meets the standard necessary to obtain a criminal conviction.”